Homeowner’s claim on PG&E work raises questions on Camp...

1of 8Betsy Ann Cowley walks through Pulga, Calif., during an interview Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, near where investigators were trying to determine the cause of the deadly fire that destroyed the town of Paradise. A day before a deadly blaze destroyed a California town, the giant utility Pacific Gas & Electric Co. got in touch with Cowley, saying they needed access to her property because their power lines were causing sparks. (AP Photo/Peter Banda)Photo: Peter Banda / Associated Press

2of 8Betsy Ann Cowley walks through Pulga, Calif., during an interview Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, near where investigators were trying to determine the cause of the deadly fire that destroyed the town of Paradise. A day before a deadly blaze destroyed a California town, the giant utility Pacific Gas & Electric Co. got in touch with Cowley, saying they needed access to her property because their power lines were causing sparks. (AP Photo/Peter Banda)Photo: Peter Banda, Associated Press

3of 8Betsy Ann Cowley walks through her retreat compound, a re-creation of the old gold mining town of Pulga, Calif., Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, that she rented out for corporate retreats. Most of the buildings survived but her own home did not. A day before a deadly blaze destroyed the California town called Paradise, the giant utility Pacific Gas & Electric Co. got in touch with Cowley, saying they needed access to her property because their power lines were causing sparks. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. What is known is that it started Thursday, Nov. 8, near Cowley's property in the tiny town of Pulga, incinerated the neighboring town of Paradise and killed dozens of people. (AP Photo/Peter Banda)Photo: Peter Banda, Associated Press

5of 8Power transmission lines cross a street in Sonoma, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 15, 2018. Some customers in the region remain without power after PG&E cut electric service in hopes of preventing fires amid red flag fire warnings.Photo: Noah Berger / Special to The Chronicle

6of 8PG&E work to take down a downed telephone pole after the Camp Fire devastated the entire town of Paradise, Calif. Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018.Photo: Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

8of 8As PG&E crews work behind it, a burned-out car sits on a road in Paradise. The company could face new liability from the Camp Fire.Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

PULGA, Butte County — A woman who lives near the origin point of the disastrous Camp Fire in Butte County said Monday that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. told her last week it planned to work on power equipment on or near her property, raising further questions about the utility’s role in what has become California’s most destructive wildfire.

BetsyAnn Cowley, 31, who lives in the tiny mountain community of Pulga where the Camp Fire started, said she received an email from PG&E the day before the fire broke out saying the utility needed to do repair work on equipment on or near her property.

“They told me they were coming through because of problems with the lines,” Cowley said.

Her 64 acres along Pulga Road off Highway 70, east of Chico, is next to the junction with Camp Creek Road, where California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials say the Camp Fire ignited Thursday morning.

Cal Fire officials have not said what caused the blaze, but power equipment in the area is being investigated as a possible source. PG&Ereported to state regulators Friday that a high-voltage power line near the origin point experienced a problem around the time of the fire’s ignition.

The California Public Utilities Commission is looking into PG&E’s compliance with “applicable rules and regulations in fire impacted areas,” said Terrie Prosper, a spokeswoman for the commission, in an email. The commission’s investigation “may include an inspection of the fire sites once Cal Fire allows access, as well as maintenance of facilities, vegetation management, and emergency preparedness and response,” Prosper said.

PG&E spokesman Paul Doherty said the company had no immediate comment about the email Cowley described.

Cowley’s revelation came as shares of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s parent company plummeted Monday amid concerns from investors about the utility’s liability connected to the Camp Fire.

Trading in PG&E Corp. was briefly halted Monday after shares dropped more than 37 percent. The stock has fallen as much as 48 percent in two days of trading since the ignition of the fire, which has now destroyed more than 7,000 structures and killed at least 42 people.

The San Francisco energy company’s shares recovered from their earlier plunge and closed at $32.98, down 17.4 percent. PG&E was Monday’s worst-performing stock on the S&P 500 Index.

“We’re not going to speculate or comment on what factors may or may not be impacting the market,” Doherty said in an email. “Right now, our entire company is focused on supporting first responders and assisting our customers and communities impacted by the Camp Fire.”

PG&E could face as much as $5 billion in liabilities from the Camp Fire, according to an estimate from Susquehanna Financial Group.

An analysis from the real estate website Trulia showed that, as of Monday morning, the Camp Fire’s perimeter encompassed 11,421 homes, worth a total of nearly $3 billion. The estimate did not include commercial structures, of which 260 have been destroyed, according to state fire officials.

The destruction already tallied reflects “severe wildfire-related credit risks” for PG&E and its parent company, according to Joe Mielenhausen of Moody’s Investors Service. Mielenhausen said in an email that the Camp Fire has also exposed shortcomings in recently enacted state legislation, SB901, which was designed to lessen the utility’s risks associated with last year’s fires but offers no protection for potential liabilities from fires this year.

“Moody’s negative outlook incorporates the view that additional financial stress for PG&E is likely,” Mielenhausen said in an email. “Going forward, we will look for signs of additional legislative and regulatory support for the utility as it works through various legal processes with Cal Fire and other state-run organizations.”

Moody’s still anticipates state regulators will seek to help PG&E and other utilities stay financially strong enough to help California meet its long-term renewable energy goals, Mielenhausen said.

Any liability associated with the Camp Fire would come on top of last year’s deadly fires that could cost as much as $17.3 billion, according to a JPMorgan Chase & Co. estimate.

But the utility is still awaiting a state report on the cause of the Tubbs Fire, the deadliest and most destructive of the 2017 Wine Country wildfires. That fire destroyed more than 5,600 structures as it leveled entire neighborhoods in and around Santa Rosa and was until last week California’s most destructive wildfire as measured by loss of buildings.